Joe Gomez was 'insecure and afraid' before suffering injury early in FA Cup loss to Plymouth as Arne Slot gives update on defender's condition ahead of Merseyside derby against Everton

Gomez returned to the Liverpool lineup for the first time since December 29 following a hamstring injury. He was handed the captain's armband, but the defender lasted only 11 minutes on the pitch before he was forced off and replaced by academy player Isaac Mabaya, who made his debut for the Reds. Gomez's absence hurt the Reds badly as they eventually lost the tie 1-0 against Plymouth Argyle and crashed out of the FA Cup.

Speaking to reporters after the game, manager Slot provided an update on the defender as he said: "I am not too sure. I am not too sure if it was the same leg, but I haven't had time to ask him. It was clear, I think we all know which moment he felt a bit insecure about [it] because he didn't sprint back fully.

"Then he said: 'I am not 100 per cent sure and I am afraid if I make one extra sprint things will go wrong.' It's not torn I assume, but it didn't feel good for him. That was a bit of a blow because Curtis Jones was on the bench, but he came to me this morning and said, 'I don't think I am fully recovered yet' as well after the training session of yesterday."

He added: "That all of a sudden led to the fact we were with a few more youngsters on the pitch than was the idea before the game, but still there was enough quality on the pitch to get a better result than this."

The Dutch coach heavily rotated his squad for the FA Cup fourth-round clash as he made nine changes in the starting lineup, with Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz being the only first-team regulars who featured from the beginning. The Premier League leaders lacked fluency throughout the game as the Championship side punished them with a second-half penalty goal to send them packing from the cup competition.

The Reds will be back in action on Wednesday as they face archrivals Everton in the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.